Dumbing down speech

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DJames
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21 Mar 2012, 3:06 pm

If I harbour some affection for the person, I take no issue in elaborating for them.
But some people of my age will ask merely to draw attention to some strangeness
which they find culpable. However, some will be correct to criticise those who are
putting their mouthfuls to baser ends - that is, for example, subterfuge, unjustified
equivocation, an attempt to dupe, or mere chaotic rambling. Or otherwise. There must be
some method to one's madness.

Dillon,

In second grade I was disciplined for bawdry rather than pomp.

I am decidedly opposed to this ridiculous proposition that those
with Aspergers are superior. Mere vanity. Das ist sehr unreif.
Be chidden.

Surfman
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21 Mar 2012, 3:10 pm

'your too ret*d to make me look dumb!'

'I'm gonna hurt you now, ret*d!'

Invader
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21 Mar 2012, 3:13 pm

TechnoDog wrote:

Invader wrote:

You think prevalent is bad? I was once ridiculed for saying that something was picked randomly.

The words "OOOOH, RANDOM?" were echoed back in a mocking tone, as if they thought it was an exotic word, like I should only be saying such things if working for NASA.

Sounds like you were insulting someone for picking things randomly rather than linear? or some other pattern.

Nope. I was explaining how something worked, after being asked.

It would be like if you had asked me what the shuffle function does on an mp3 player.

I'm not misinterpreting the situation, the person really was/is that ignorant, from a barely educated background full of wonderful bigotry.

Alexender
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21 Mar 2012, 3:18 pm

MrXxx wrote:

Alexender wrote:

Joe90 wrote:

I wish people here would stop calling NTs stupid.

Hey it is a way for some people on here to feel better about themselves, saying 99% of people aren't as smart as them.

Nobody has called NT's stupid in this thread.

EDIT: *sigh...* Yet... :roll:

Nice edit

and you were right, I meant to put that no one has in this thread yet, then say hey it is a way...

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MrXxx
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21 Mar 2012, 3:25 pm

Another thread taking a turn for the ridiculous. :roll:

Referring to NT's as stupid is in itself a stupid generalization.

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TechnoDog
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21 Mar 2012, 3:29 pm

MrXxx wrote:

Another thread taking a turn for the ridiculous. :roll:

Referring to NT's as stupid is in itself a stupid generalization.

Actual you can just say they are projecting they own fears onto them. :wink:

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MrXxx
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21 Mar 2012, 3:30 pm

TechnoDog wrote:

MrXxx wrote:

Another thread taking a turn for the ridiculous. :roll:

Referring to NT's as stupid is in itself a stupid generalization.

Actual you can just say they are projecting they own fears onto them. :wink:

I'd rather just call a spade a spade. Probably the Aspie in me. I'm sure they think they're doing the same.

fleurdelily
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21 Mar 2012, 3:34 pm

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-srv/lo ... rict27.htm

goes to show, ignorance is not just annoying, having a superior vocabulary can cost you your employment. We are vastly outnumbered by the ignorant.

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TechnoDog
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21 Mar 2012, 3:45 pm

fleurdelily wrote:

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-srv/local/daily/jan99/district27.htm

goes to show, ignorance is not just annoying, having a superior vocabulary can cost you your employment. We are vastly outnumbered by the ignorant.

Do you have a video or a audio of what he said.....

mds_02
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21 Mar 2012, 3:52 pm

Surfman wrote:

To me, most NT's linguistic intelligence seems to hover around the level of a lawn mowing contractor

Really? You're gonna use someone's crappy job as a measure of their intelligence?

Dumb to accuse someone of snobbishness based on their vocabulary. This, on the other hand, is a perfect example of it.

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League_Girl
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21 Mar 2012, 3:53 pm

fleurdelily wrote:

Ugh that annoyed me, use the damn dictionary people. I just searched that word on Google to see the definition. Another reason why I hate sensitive people (thank god not all of them are that way). They over react and take things the wrong way and our of proportion and will not admit they are wrong when you explain it to them. To me it screams bully.

Mdyar
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21 Mar 2012, 3:54 pm

draelynn wrote:

I just started a new job. I have learned after decades of practice, when talking to others about your interest, you need to speak to them on a sub-beginners level. My interest is in plants so botanical names don't enter conversations until I know the person has the interest by asking more detailed questions of me. I keep my plant talk very basic.

BUT, one of my employees was working with me and in the course of conversation I used the word 'prevalent'. Context, in this case, is irrelevant. She looked at me strangely - I wasn't sure which part of my conversation she was confused about. After a few tries she pointed out the word 'prevalent' and said I was using big words. O_o Up until that point we had been conversing 'normally'. She doesn't seem to be learning impaired, possess your average intelligence of the public in general, a high school graduate.

I have this happen often with words I normally consider in the general English lexicon.

My question - how do you know? How do you know when and how much to dumb down your conversation? The first time I had an employer tell me outright to dumb down my communications I was flabbergasted. I thought it was the height of arrogance and rudeness to assume that people were 'dumb'. As it turns out, it is generally considered rude and arrogant to 'flaunt' your intelligence even when it entails using the English language that is freely available in any dictionary and words comparable to a middle school reading comprehension test.

Seriously - my 9 year old knows the word 'prevalent'.

What is the base level of 'dumb' I should be expecting? (and let me make it crystal clear... 'DUMB' is NOT my word. It is the word my superiors have used. I find it rather repugnant but the 'dumbing down' concept is widely accepted... doctors, I find, make great use of it.)

Quote:

the word 'prevalent'

Only in America. :lol:

Once, I was told by a coworker to stop talking like a lawyer, to use normal words. The word was ascertain.

Recently, I took the liberty to ask a coworker about me, of what is it that you find weird or different. He said, "you're different in that you have a fascination with information, and you'll look up everything there is to know about something. Most people don't do that. Not that this is bad, but you have different angle or way of looking at things. It's good to be different."

There really isn't an up pe front perfect answer on how to tailor your speech. On the other side of the coin, I've simplified stuff and it comes out as " dumbing down," and they felt a bit slighted.

I say, just be yourself.

Invader
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21 Mar 2012, 4:21 pm

MrXxx wrote:

Another thread taking a turn for the ridiculous. :roll:

Referring to NT's as stupid is in itself a stupid generalization.

That's a logical fallacy. Being a generalization does not implicitly make something false.

Apples grow on trees. Generalization? Yes. False? No.

Also, minor exceptions to a rule do not invalidate the rule. It's a fact that most people on earth are below average intelligence, simply by the definition of what an "average" is. It's also a fact that most of them are NT. It's not "ridiculous" to make the generalization that they are stupid. Most of them genuinely are, even the seemingly intelligent ones share most of the herd's illogical values and beliefs, in spite of their greater reasoning power.

CyclopsSummers
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21 Mar 2012, 4:22 pm

When I worked at the factory in the first half of last year, I started out by speaking like I had always done. Long sentences, lots of elaborating, inserting some 'big words'. That ended up being a bit counterproductive sometimes, because my colleagues and superiors preferred concise communication, and English served as a lingua franca for a lot of us who were speaking it as a second language (including me).

Now that I work as a cleaner in an equally international crew, I choose to speak in a 'simplified' version of English so that I can communicate faster. The colleagues who are Dutch and around my age, also speak differently from me (in Dutch), due to different factors, mainly because I'm the only nerd there, and they're all 'cool'.

I sometimes choose to speak as I've always done. I guess it also differs per colleague. Some colleagues I can have great conversations with, and I can use all the polysyllables I want. But when I talk to the guys my age, it will generally sound weird to them, and I might as well try to emulate their speech -for as much as I'm comfortable with.

I don't feel superior at all just because I know quite a few 'big words' and have a taste for using them; I was reminded of this today at work, when I made a couple of very embarassing beginner's mistakes somebody else would not have made. My personal weaknesses really showed.

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TheSunAlsoRises
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21 Mar 2012, 4:24 pm

fleurdelily wrote:

Quote:

TheSunAlsoRises wrote:

Quote:

Where i come from having a superior vocabulary could cost you your life.

But, i understood my environment and knew 'why' things were the way they were.

Non-Autistics adjust their verbal and non-verbal communication depending upon the situation and their audience. There are individuals (for various reasons) who are not exposed to or are as familiar with vocabulary words as we think they ought to be. So, upon hearing such words, they question it's meaning and usage in a sometimes abrupt way inorder to compensate for their weaknesses.

The opposite end of this discussion IS THAT we may have those on the spectrum who have problems with understanding vocabulary words. In such cases, i would want people to treat them very well and with understanding.... regardless of neurology.

TheSunAlsoRises

Last edited by TheSunAlsoRises on 21 Mar 2012, 4:57 pm, edited 4 times in total.

Surfman
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21 Mar 2012, 4:32 pm

mds_02 wrote:

Surfman wrote:

To me, most NT's linguistic intelligence seems to hover around the level of a lawn mowing contractor

he he I'm a voice snob too

no one is perfect including me.... they say the soul is reflected in the eyes....what about the voice?

My old NT friends: high level cop, senior fireman, marketing executive, telecom management, building supervisors and inspection, chemists and engineers.... not crappy jobs at all! yet, I find some of them as thick as a brick.

They have not read or studied much at all, apart from relating to their vocation. This is due to them being busy raising families....... while we aspies read and read and read and read and read and read.............

I earnt $75 an hour mowing lawns!

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